MEMOIR OP PENNANT. 
47 
it to the water’s edge, and after launching it, they 
embark and place themselves round the heap with 
their heads joined over it, and their hacks to the 
water, their tails pendent in the water, serving the 
purpose of rudders.’ AVhen I consider the wonder- 
ful sagacity of heavers, and think of the manage- 
ment of the squirrel, which in cases of similar 
necessity make a piece of bark their boat, and 
tail their sail, I no longer hesitate to credit the re- 
lation. 
“ The common fox and the arctic are frequent ; 
but they axe proscribed and killed, in order to pre- 
vent the havoc they would make among the sheep. 
'The polar bear is often transported from Greenland 
on the islands of floating ice ; but no sooner is its 
landing discovered, than a general alarm is spread, 
and pursuit made till it is destroyed. The Ice- 
landers are very intrepid in their attacks on' this 
animal ; and a single man, armed only with a spear, 
frequently enters the lists with this tremendous 
beast, and never fails of victory. A person who 
lived near Langeness, the extreme northern point, 
where the bears most frequently land, is still cele- 
brated for having slain not fewer than twenty in 
single combat. There is a reward for every skin, 
which must be delivered to the next magistrate. 
“ The amphibious animals, or seals, are very nu- 
merous. Iceland being blest with domestic animals^, 
has less use of this race than other arctic countries ; 
yet they are of considerable advantage. The skins 
